Gin and Tears
by MickBeth4ever
Summary: Beth goes to a bar and gets trashed. Mick goes to get her and after Beth wakes up and they are back to the safety of his apartment, they have a little chat.


Ok, so this is a one shot that I decided to do. Beth goes to a bar and gets trashed. Mick comes to the rescue and helps take care of her after she wakes up with a huge hangover. Hope you guys like it!!!! If you do, please let me know, I love reviews!!!!

Disclaimer: Don't own or else Mick and Beth would have gotten together quicker and Mick would have already fed from her…but noooo they had to cancel the show….*sob*.

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Drunk

Mick made his way downstairs and toward his ringing cell phone. Looking at his watch he saw that it was 10:30, and when he saw who was calling, his eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Hello, Josef," he said in a warm greeting.

"Mick."

All he had to hear was the tone of his friend's voice to know that something was wrong.

"You're needed at the bar on 44th."

"Why? What's going on? Is everything alright?"

"It's Beth."

If Mick had a beating heart it would have stopped. "What happened?"

"She's totally trashed, Mick. She hasn't said anything about vampires yet, which I find comforting because according my source, she's passed being able to think coherently."

Grabbing his keys and running out the door he said, "You have a guy there?"

"Yeah, he was there having some drinks when she came in. He kept an eye on her, knowing who she was, and saw what was going on and called me."

"Thanks, Josef, I'm on my way," he said, jumping in the car.

"No problem."

Mick hung up and quickly raced toward the bar.

When he finally got there and walked in the door, it took him only seconds to find her.

"Oh, Beth."

She looked a wreck and was downing a shot of something and then getting a refill, talking to the bartender. Making his way toward her, the bartender caught his eye. He looked back at Beth with a concerned look on his face and he seemed to understand.

"Beth?" he asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.

When she looked over and saw him, he was surprised when she shook his hand off and said, "Go away, Mick."

The shock must have shown on his face because the bartender discretely motioned for him to move down the bar. He followed him and gave him a questioning look.

"I'm going to give you a piece of advice, Mick," the man said. Mick saw that the man was being sincere, so he nodded his head to tell him to continue. "You need to talk to that girl. She seems to think very highly of you and cares for you a great deal. She said that she had been making advances and you took them, but then pushed her away, said that you told her that you didn't want her to get hurt. I may have only been talking to her for a little while, but I can tell that she really cares for you. So, I'm just suggesting that you need to talk to her."

Mick nodded, knowing the man was right. "Yeah, it's just," he paused, trying to find the right word. "Complicated."

He nodded and said, "Well, you just need to talk to her. If it's a touchy topic, then you might want to try talking to her now, while she probably won't remember, just to give yourself some practice for the next time when she'll be alert."

Mick looked over at Beth who was looking at her shot glass that was half full. When he looked back over at the bartender, he saw a sympathetic smile on his face. "Thank you, I'll talk to her tonight." Mick took out his wallet and gave the man more than enough money to cover Beth's drink, which he was sure she hadn't yet paid for.

The man nodded and said, "Good luck," and walked over to a customer that was to the right of himself and Beth.

Looking over, he knew that it was his fault that she was here. He had been sending her mixed signals for weeks, wanting what she had to give and taking it, then other times distancing himself from her to protect her. Looking at her now, he knew that it was time for him to decide what to do and stick to his decision. Sighing, he knew he would be taking her back to his house so that he could take care of her.

Knowing that he would be deciding what to do while she slept, he decided to get her out of the bar. Walking over cautiously he said, "Beth?" but kept his distance this time.

When she looked up, she had tears in her eyes. His heart ached for her and he wanted to reach out and embrace her, to let her know that everything would be alright. "Yeah?" she asked softly, he was sure that if he hadn't had his vampire hearing that he wouldn't have picked it up.

"Come on, let me take you out of here," he said, offering her his hand. She looked at it, as if not knowing what it was for. But after a little while, she slowly reached out her hand and allowed him to clasp hers in his. When she stood up, she almost fell, but Mick was able to catch her before she crumbled completely. To save them both to trouble, he picked her up and carried her to his car, knowing he would come back later to get her car.

Making his way to his place, he took the time to think about his upcoming talk and decision about him and Beth. But when he got back to his apartment he wasn't any closer to a decision than when he left the bar. When he parked and looked over to Beth, he saw that she was sleeping. Smiling, he got out and carefully took her out of the car so as not to disturb her, but he knew that it probably didn't matter; she was out like a rock.

Making his way up the elevator, he shifted her to move his keys to get to the remote to open his door. When the door to the elevator opened, he had Beth safely in his arms and walked out. Once inside, he laid her on the couch and went back to close the door. After the apartment was secure, he went back over to her and took the throw that was draped over the back of the couch and placed it over her to keep her warm.

After making sure she was as comfortable as she could be, he made a mental list of items that she would need.

"Aspirin…" he said to himself. He walked into the kitchen and opened a cabinet that held any over-the-counter medications that any of his human guests would need; like now for instance. Finding the bottle, he put it down on the island and knowing that she would probably be sick he knew what he needed and said, "Trash can." He went into his office and found the small can that he kept by his desk. He walked back into the kitchen and grabbed a plastic bag; it probably wasn't the best of ideas to have her be sick in something that he couldn't clean up easily. "Ok, aspirin, can, what else?" he asked himself. He hit himself on the head and with a smile he said, "Water," grabbing a glass and filling it with water from the sink and picking up the rest of the items, he walked back over to Beth.

Satisfied that he had everything that she would need when she awoke, he put the water and the aspirin on the coffee table, and the can on the floor, in front of the couch. Then, he pulled out his cell phone and walked into the kitchen, so as not to disturb her sleep.

"Hello, Josef," he said, knowing that his voice sounded tired.

"Mick."

"She's at my place with me," he said, knowing Josef would be relieved to hear that.

"Good. But, I have to say that she has shown herself even more trustworthy now. Anyone who can be holding a conversation like she was, be as trashed as she was, and not mention vampires isn't going to even under normal circumstances," Mick could hear the slight respect and relief in his voice.

"Do you know what she was talking about?" he asked, knowing that he probably did.

"Yes," he paused. "What are you going to do?"

Mick sighed. "I don't know. I want her, Josef. I really do. But," he shook his head. "But I don't want to hurt her."

He could hear Josef sigh. "Mick, can I be honest with you? Good," he said, before he could answer. "You know your limits and aren't willing to cross them. You can have a relationship with her, Mick. Trust me, I know." Mick heard the sadness in his voice for a moment before he continued, "But, I'm telling you, Mick, give her a choice. You both want to be together. I know that because when I see you two together it almost makes me sick when you both keep stealing looks at each other." Mick knew that he was just saying that to uphold his pride, that he really did care and was happy for him and Beth. But he turned serious when he said, "Let her have a choice on whether or not she wants to be turned. If you don't, then she will feel like you're making decisions for her, and you know how she gets with that temper of hers. I know you don't want that for her, but you have to let her have the option."

Mick was silent for a long time, while looking at Beth. He was surprised that Josef even mentioned turning, but now looking back, it made sense. If they were going to be in a relationship, that would be a topic of discussion later on. He still had to decide if he was going to take the chance and have a relationship with her, and that gave him a lot to think about. It seemed that Josef understood and stayed on until he decided to speak up. It took him a while to decide, but he knew what he had to do. "Thanks, Josef," he said.

"Hey, what are 400 year old friends for anyways if we can't give someone advice on their love lives? Besides," he told him. "I don't want to see you moping around for another fifty plus years if she dies. I know you, you'll be a mess."

Mick chuckled sadly. "Yeah…Thanks, Josef. She's sleeping now, but I'll be talking to her when she gets up."

"Alright, good luck, man."

"I'll let you know what happens."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to have some blood ready just in case."

"Thanks, Josef."

Mick hung up the phone and walked over to his fireplace and turned it on, then turned out the lights before moving toward the armchair opposite of where Beth was laying, knowing that lights would make her headache worse when she awoke. Watching her for the few hours that it would take for her to wake up allowed him to be able to look at her openly without having to catch quick glances without having to answer awkward questions. He knew that she wanted to try and make a relationship work between them, but he didn't know how to open himself up to that, or to trust himself enough.

A few hours after Mick took Beth from the bar, she started to awaken. He put down the book that he had grabbed in order to pass the time. He watched as Beth grabbed her head and groaned. She stretched, with her eyes closed, and stopped. He smiled as she felt the couch and pillows and realizing that she wasn't home, her eyes popped open and she sat up too quickly.

"Ow," she said, holding her head and laying back down.

Mick chuckled as she opened her eyes again and caught his. "Hi," he whispered, knowing the headache she had.

"Hi," she whispered back. "Who hit me with a train?"

He had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. He walked over and knelt down next to her. He picked up the water glass and the aspirin, poured out three tablets, and gave them to her. She smiled at him and downed the tablets with the water quickly. When she looked back up they locked eyes. Mick knew he should pull away; he was too close. She leaned in slightly, closing her eyes, and Mick almost, _almost_, closed the gap, but instead put his hand against her cheek. When she opened her eyes, he saw tears start to pool. He shook his head to calm her fears. "Beth, it's ok. We just need to talk first," he told her. But when it didn't seem to help, he said, "How about I owe you a kiss?" She seemed to be ok with that and she nodded her head slightly. "Where do you want me to sit?" he asked.

She motioned to the chair across from her where he had been sitting since she arrived and he smiled, knowing that she knew they needed space to have this conversation; at least for the start of it.

"Are you alright to have this conversation now? Or do you want to try for later?" he asked.

She looked up at him and he could tell that she had a major headache. "In a second, I'm not feeling too good." With lightning speed, Mick grabbed the trash can and handed it to her and was able to pull her hair away from her face when she started to wretch.

Glad that he was able to go without breathing, Mick held his breath and stayed by her side and rubbed her back soothingly. When she was finally done, he went to the kitchen and took the liner out of the can, tied it up, and put it in a larger trash can that he had for the house. He then grabbed a wet paper towel and went back to Beth.

After he gave it to her, he made sure she was ok before going to sit down. Realizing that the pills that she had just taken were now of no use, he fished out three more and handed them to her. He heard her pulse quicken momentarily and she looked up before looking back down and said quietly, "You can sit down, you know."

He smiled. "I just wanted to make sure you were ok." And he didn't want to move away too quickly to make her think that he was disgusted that she had just been sick.

She smiled, a red tint on her cheeks. "I'm alright, thanks."

He smiled back, making sure she knew that he wasn't upset with her and then sat down across from her. She grabbed the glass of water and washed her mouth out, getting the taste of her sickness out of her mouth.

"So, what made you go to the bar and drink your guts out?" he asked when she put the glass down.

With her head down, she mumbled something that even he couldn't hear. "Sorry, I missed that," he said, comfortingly.

She looked up with a hint of anger and tears and said louder, "You."

Even though he had already known what her answer was going to be, it still stung to hear her say it. Before he could say anything, she continued.

"Sometimes when I look at you, I see the same want that I feel, but then the next time I look, you have a look that says 'I don't want to be near you'. I kiss you and you kiss me back," she said, standing up. "But then after, you avoid me. I let you feed off of me because I knew that if you died I would be crushed, _again_. Then you avoided me and my calls for days! Make up your mind, do you want me or not?!"

Mick stood up as she yelled her last statement and was ready when she grabbed her head and swayed. He quickly grabbed her so that she wouldn't fall. When she was stable again, he raised her chin and looked deeply into her eyes and said, "I know, and I'm sorry. I know that I've been sending you mixed signals, but that's because _I'm_ getting mixed up. A part of me does want to be with you, but the other part of me knows what's going to happen down the road and," he said, wiping a tear away with his thumb as it fell down her cheek. "I don't want to hurt you."

"But you _won't_ hurt me, Mick. Why can't you get that through your thick skull!"

"Because I worry, that's just the way I am. I'm worried that I'll lose control and not be able to stop myself from harming you. You won't be able to protect yourself, Beth, I'd be too strong for you."

She looked up into his worrying eyes and smiled. "Mick, you remember when you were in that hotel and you were so close to death? You were dying and you didn't hurt me. If you were going to lose control at any point in time, you would have done it there, when you were desperate."

"But Beth, you don't understand, I almost lost control, I almost bit Lennie-"

"But you didn't," she said, putting her own hand on his face. "And even when I offered you my blood you didn't spaz out," she said with a chuckle. "You stopped when I told you to and there was no damage done."

Mick shook his head slightly and closed his eyes. "After a while I did, but I couldn't stop right when you told me to."

He heard a sad sigh and was about to open his eyes when he felt her lips touch his softly for a moment before pulling away. When he opened his eyes he saw a small smile on her face. "You need to stop hating yourself, Mick. I gave you my blood willingly, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I'm willing to take the risk to be with you, even though I don't believe that there _is_ a risk involved." She paused for a moment before saying, "You said that you knew what was going to happen eventually, what did you mean by that?"

He couldn't find it in himself to look away from those trusting blue eyes as he said, "Eventually there will be one of two things that will happen. One, you will leave me. You will either die of old age or you will decide that you want more than I can give you and you'll leave for someone better. Or you'll be-" he paused and closed his eyes. "Or you would have to be turned."

"Mick." Knowing that she wanted him to open his eyes, he did so and looked into her determined eyes. "Number one, I will not leave you for someone better. There isn't anyone better for me. If things don't work out, they don't work out and it wasn't meant to be. But I will always stay in touch with you, we'll always be friends. Yes, I could die, that's part of life. But, I would be happy to have had all the good times with you than have not had them at all and died not knowing what could have been. And, I know you're not going to like this, if I chose to be turned then that's my decision. It's not only your choice, but mine too. If you don't want to turn me, I understand. I'll find someone else if you're not comfortable enough to do it."

"Like who?" he challenged.

"Like Josef."

His eyes went wide and said, "No. You can't!"

"Why not?"

"Because, the bond between sire and fledgling is very strong. And if you had Josef do it, then Josef and I would be at each other's throats. I would be protective of you and so would he, and I wouldn't want him to do some stuff with you that…." He paused, catching his breath. "It's just too complicated."

"It's ok, Mick. We'll figure that all out if, and when, the time comes. For now, you have to decide where you want this to go. I'm willing to work for this, the question is: are you?"

Mick knew he wouldn't be able to deny her, because truth be told he wanted this too. But was he willing to risk hurting her? But looking into her eyes he knew that she really did believe that he wouldn't hurt her. It was then that he realized how strong of a woman that Beth had become. He had watched her ever since that night that he found her with Coralline and he hadn't realized what a strong woman she had really become until this night. He knew she was strong, she had been able to hold her own through high school, college, and in her professional career. But this…

Looking into her eyes, Mick couldn't help but be lost within their depths. He never thought that he would be lucky enough to love again, let alone be loved. But here she was, standing in front of him with open arms, waiting for him to make the next move. He was scared, that was obvious, but he knew that she was as well, but not for the same reason. She was afraid that he would decide to let her go, to go back to the way things were only six months ago, to watching her on the sidelines. But if only she knew that he couldn't do that anymore, to just stand away and not be able to see her and talk to her, it would destroy him. She had become a permanent fixture in his life and he was just starting to realize that.

He couldn't deny her.

He smiled slowly and reached up to touch her cheek. He watched her smile and close her eyes, leaning into his touch and sighing in happiness. When she opened her eyes, he knew something that could speak volumes more than just words could. So he pulled her close to him and looking into her eyes, he closed the gap and closed his eyes as their lips touched. He poured all his feelings into that kiss, his hesitancy, his love, and his want. In response, he felt all of her love and confidence that they could work this out.

When he pulled away he saw tears of joy in Beth's eyes. "Was that a yes?" she asked, breathless.

Mick smiled. "Yes. I'm still not sure about you being turned. But one thing that I do know, is that you're a part of my life now. I could never send you away again. I wouldn't be able to go back to only watching over you and not being able to interact with you." He caressed her cheek as he said, "I couldn't give this up."

She smiled and said, "Thank you."

He nodded and pulled her in for a hug. He felt her arms wrap around him and in return he pulled her in as close as she could be and held her. This felt so right to him. Like she was made to fit in his arms. He meant what he said; he couldn't live without her anymore. And she knew it now too.

When they pulled back he said, "You should get some sleep, you still aren't feeling well."

Beth smiled. "Thanks for taking care of me," she said, motioning to all the things he brought for her. "You didn't have to do this, but thank you. I really appreciate it."

Mick nodded. "Well, since it was my fault that you were there, it's only fair that I help take care of you. I was happy to."

Beth smiled and laid back down on the couch. Mick pulled the cover over her again and she snuggled into the couch. "Thank you," she said softly.

His heart melted at her look and her voice. "You're welcome."

He moved to go upstairs but heard, "Mick?"

"Yes?" he asked, moving back to the couch.

"Could you…could you stay with me until I fall asleep? If this is a dream, then I want to enjoy this as long as I can," she told him.

Mick smiled. "Of course, even though it's not a dream." He moved to the far end of the couch where Beth's head lay. He carefully raised her head and placed it back down on his lap when he sat down. Stroking her hair, he said, "Go to sleep. I'll be right here."

Beth smiled and looked at him through her tired eyes. "Thanks, Mick."

He watched as her eyelids drooped and closed, and listened as her breathing and heart rate regulated, telling him that she was now asleep. She may have only asked for a few moments, but he planned on staying until she woke up in the morning. Besides, he was a night person anyways.

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Hope you all liked it!!!! Please let me know if you did.

Also, if you have any ideas for POVs from episodes, let me know! I'll be happy to do them. I have a list of ones that I will be doing on my profile. Help me add to the list!!! Thanks!!!


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